Never Say Never
by Out-Of-Control-Authoress
Summary: Part one of the "Three Ways" collection. She should have known. Every sign was there. It had always been there, hadn't it? Akako had been right - karma really did love girls like her. "Never say never."


I will be posting three one shots, as a sort of challenge to myself. They will all encompass one couple of Detective Conan. The three teen couples. :)

This one is KaitoxAoko. I'd love to hear your feedback!

Three Ways

Never Say Never

It had started as a stupid joke by some classmates.

"Hey, Aoko," one of the girls cawed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, "your dad leads the Kaitou Kid Taskforce, right?"

She snorted at the mention of the thief, shrugging out of the girl's grip. "Yeah. What about it?"

The girls all exchanged disturbingly evil smiles, giggling and snickering. They turned their full attention back to Aoko. One of them stepped forward boldly.

"Do you hate him? The Kid?"

Aoko crossed her arms. She had no idea where all this questioning had come from. "Yeah. And?"

"And if Kaitou Kid was-"

"Did I just hear 'Kaitou Kid'?"

Aoko turned, as did the other girls, as Kaito came up behind them. His arms were locked behind his head, that familiar grin on his face. His eyes were alight with mischief. Nothing new. Kaito always looked like that.

Aoko couldn't help but smile. Just a little. Kaito was such a goof.

A brunette linked arms with her, grinning widely. "So, Aoko, what would you do if Kaito Kid was in love with you?"

Time sort of froze.

Aoko gaped, mouth opening and closing, no words coming out.

What. The. Hell.

She wrenched her arm out of the brunette's grasp. "That is so wrong, Eri!"

This time, Kaito slung an arm around her shoulder. "Why? He's got impeccable taste!" Aoko wanted to hit him. From the look on his face, he was enjoying himself immensely.

Eri, the brunette, flipped her hair. "Jeez, Kaito, you're not supposed to _encourage _your competition."

"But come on, Aoko, what would you do?"

"Yeah. Would you let him take you flying?"

The girls all sighed dreamily, imagining their own fantasies of spending a starry night flying through the skies with the Kid.

Aoko ignored the ribbing, and pushed Kaito's arm away. "Honestly, guys, it's _never _going to happen."

A blonde blinked, looking startled. "Well, why not? _Anything_ could happen."

"Not all things," Aoko snapped, huffing aloud. Really, the girls in her class were so stupid. Didn't they realize that the Kid was a criminal? He was a horrible person! He stole and made a fool out of the police just for kicks.

It was despicable, really.

"Never say never."

They all turned, to where Akako was sitting calmly at her desk, a black, leather-bound book in her hand. Her chin rested in one palm. She was leering over at Aoko, a strange smile on her face.

Aoko sputtered in horror. "Akako, no! No way! Don't tell me that-"

Akako shrugged, successfully cutting Aoko off from any further denying of the fact. "I'm just saying that you should never say never. Karma likes girls like you."

Aoko grimaced, crossing her arms and turning away from all of the girls who seemed so keen on being aggravatingly fanatical. "Don't be stupid. We're sworn enemies. It will _never_ happen."

Aoko didn't notice the funny look on Kaito's face. Akako did, however, and just smirked indulgently before turning back to her book.

* * *

It was after school, that very same day, that it happened again. She was walking home with Kaito, who was being oddly quiet. They just walked in silence, their only company the echoing sounds of their footsteps and the bustling city around them.

Aoko glanced up at him. He didn't look upset or angry or anything like that. He was just...staring off into space.

"Ne...Kaito?"

He blinked and shook his head, as if ridding himself of something, and turned his head her way. "What's up, Aoko?"

"Just...wondering why you're lookin' so weird."

Kaito's eyebrows shot up, and his mouth popped open into a small, silent 'o'. He looked a little embarrassed, actually. Aoko couldn't figure out why, when he turned his head away, his cheeks were a little pink.

"I don't look weird, do I?"

Aoko shrugged, tapping her lip with one finger. "Not weird, really, just...thoughtful. You don't usually act so quiet."

Kaito didn't answer to that. He just went quiet again. She didn't really know what to do. Aoko had only seen him act this quiet a few times before, and she had never known what to do on a single one of those occasions.

"So why _do_ you hate the Kaitou Kid so much?"

Aoko froze mid-step, finding it suddenly impossible to walk.

"Jeez, no need to be all melodramatic..."

Typically, Kaito would have said this with a grin on his face, or he would have flipped her skirt or something equally as immature. This time, however, he just stood there with his hands in his pockets, scowling off to the side.

Aoko sighed. She knew that he idolized the Kid in some ways, but she didn't realize that he'd take actual offense to her not liking his idol.

"I just..." she trailed off, resuming her walking. "I hate liars. And thieves. He always seems so dishonest to me, like everything he's doing is just this big, huge lie that he's created for fun. Not to mention, he steals. My dad's a cop, Kaito. I was brought up being told that thieves were the worst of the worst."

She chanced a glance up, to his face. To her immense surprise, all she saw was pain. He looked physically ill at what she had just said.

Aoko couldn't stand seeing him like this. This was her best friend. She couldn't be doing this to him!

"Oh, Kaito, I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, grabbing him and hugging him. His body tensed in surprise, and his arms froze midway to hugging her back. "I know you idolize him so much! I'm so sorry!"

His voice was strained, like it hurt to speak, when he answered. "It's...fine."

She shook her head, burying her face into his chest. "It's not. Kaito, I'm sorry. I won't talk about Kaitou Kid like that, anymore. I don't like you looking like that."

Kaito quickly unwound her from his waist, and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Okay, Aoko. Don't worry about it. Let's get you home before your dad skewers me."

Aoko wasn't convinced, but she let him lead her home. He never let go of her hand, not for even a moment. It was unusual, but Aoko labelled it as friendly support. He was trying to make her feel better.

They kept quiet through the entire walk. Aoko just let Kaito take her home in silence. Silence, silence, silence.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternal walk of soundlessness, Kaito stopped in front of her house.

He stood there, across from her, looking down at the ground. His bangs were covering his eyes, so she couldn't figure out his expression. His grip on her hand tightened ever-so-slightly.

"Kaito, I have to go in. I have homework-"

Suddenly, he pulled her towards him. His head was still down, but he wrenched her into his arms. It knocked her bag out of her hands and onto the ground. Aoko yelped in surprise, and her face flamed hot. Kaito had never acted like this before. This was not Kaito. This was...something else.

What had happened so suddenly to her carefree, mischievous best friend?

She could feel his breath on her forehead, and she leaned her head upwards, trying to gauge his expression. His eyes were half-lidded and glassy, like he was lost in another world. The rest of his face was hard, stone-like.

It scared her more than anything.

Aoko tried to pull back, but he had a stronger grip. One of his hands moved up, touching her cheek with a gentleness that shocked her and melted her at the same time.

She couldn't handle this. For so long, she'd toyed with the concept of thinking of Kaito as...something more. For so long, she'd forced herself to realize that Kaito was her best friend. He didn't think of her that way.

All of a sudden, however, things were looking quite differently.

He leaned his face down. He was so close that she could almost feel his lips on her own. She wanted, more than anything, for him to kiss her then and there. At the same time, she wanted to struggle and break free. Kaito wasn't acting like himself.

Suddenly, it was over. He dropped his hand, pulling away and taking a few steps back to put some healthy distance between them. It was like the raising of a mask, and suddenly he was Kaito again.

That, Aoko felt, unnerved her more than the behaviour from before had. Since when could Kaito just change his face at the drop of a hat?

Since when had Kaito become that sort of person?

"Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. His cheeks were a little pink. His eyes were cast downwards, away from her.

Aoko hugged herself, unable to look at him either. "It's fine. Don't...don't worry about it."

She felt it when he raised his eyes. Those eyes burned like fire into her face. He was _staring_.

"I...I have to go," she said, and before he could say or do a thing, she picked up her fallen book bag and ran into her house.

She shut the door, leaning back against it. She dropped her bag to the floor beside her and collapsed into tears.

Aoko was very glad that her father had already left to prepare for the Kid heist. She hadn't been able to stop herself from breaking down and crying.

* * *

That night was the third time. She was lying in bed, having a fitful sleep. Her dreams had been plagued with nothing but Kaito and the Kid. Kaito almost kissing her. The Kid always being there.

She woke up suddenly, violently knocked out of the subconscious by a dream where the Kaito had turned into the Kid and then kissed her. Her fingers wound up absently to her lips.

_Never, never, never...not with the Kid._

But...what about Kaito?

She glanced to the window, hoping to find some sort of answer there. Instead, there was an outline. An outline of a tall top hat and a billowing cape.

Aoko gasped harshly and leapt out of bed, stumbling to the glass door that lead to the balcony off of her bedroom. She wrenched it open, tripping out into the open night air.

But there was no one there.

She glanced around wildly, searching for the Kid that she had seen. She knew that she'd seen him. He had to be there.

He wasn't.

Aoko sank to her knees, leaning against the railing for support. The moon shone brightly in the night sky.

She couldn't help but wonder how it _would _feel, to fly through the starry, moonlit night with the Kaito Kid. Aoko had always wanted to fly.

Kaito's face appeared at the forefront of her mind, and that weariness returned.

Aoko cried for a second time that night, this time filled with an immeasurable confusion that she knew couldn't be sorted out alone.

* * *

The next day, Kaito acted like nothing had happened. He behaved just as he always did. Just as obnoxious and childish and goofy as he'd always been.

Him pretending to forget made it easier for her to pretend, too.

The rest of the week passed by, and Aoko found herself completely forgetting about the Kid and about what had happened with Kaito.

It was almost two weeks later that her father was preparing for another Kid heist. Aoko wanted to go with him. He had said no, that it was too dangerous, but Aoko had begged and begged until he agreed.

She decided that she was going to catch the Kid. She was going to catch him and put him in prison with other criminals, right where he belonged.

She was going to make her dad proud.

When Aoko got to the heist, she was, as usual, shocked by the turnout. She just didn't get why so many people wanted to see someone commit a criminal act. It was so...so stupid. Just stupid.

Aoko gripped her hands together, absently brushing over the handcuffs she'd smuggled from her dad's police stuff. She smiled resolutely, at the mansion where the heist was to take place. She would do it. She had to.

Part of her grinned, and said that she was just trying to get rid of a sudden and present problem in her life. Kaito Kid was confusing her, and she was trying to get rid of him for it.

The rest of her waved it off. She wasn't doing anything that any policeman wouldn't.

_"What would you do if Kaitou Kid was in love with you?"_

She shook the girl's words out of her head. No way. It was wrong. It went against everything. She was the daughter of the Kid's nemesis.

She hated Kaitou Kid.

As the preparations progressed, Aoko snuck upstairs, into the guarded room where the jewel was kept. It was a large sapphire, set in a crown of silver. Her eyes widened at its beauty.

Why would the Kid want to take something like this from the people who owned it? It was so cruel...

She hid back under a nearby table. the Kid would come in, having gotten past the door guards. He would somehow manage to open the secured case and steal the jewel. Aoko would get him then. She would handcuff him to something. To something solid, so he couldn't get away.

Almost an hour passed by, and the town bell chimed midnight. Aoko tensed. It was time.

There was a lot of yelling from outside, and Aoko could smell the familiar scent of the Kid's favourite smoke. Then, the door opened. It closed softly, and all of the yelling and shouting was quieted by the door. The flip of a lock, and she knew that the Kid was with her.

She heard footsteps, and the window was disarmed and unlocked for his escape.

She glared at the feet as they passed by. She was almost ready.

Aoko caught the sound of glass being cut through, and finally, the Kaitou Kid let out a low chuckle. He'd pocketed the jewel. She knew it.

"Is that you, my friend?" he whispered to it. "Or are you just another false lead?"

What the heck? Friend? False lead? What in the world was the Kaitou Kid talking about?

She decided that she didn't care, and she leapt out from under the table. She grabbed him around the waist, latching on and refusing to let go. He let out a sharp yell. It was obvious that she'd caught him off-guard.

Score one for Aoko.

She managed to get the handcuffs out of her pocket, and locked them onto her wrist. Then, she locked them onto his wrist. He whirled in that familiar white suit, and sharp blue eyes stared in shock at her work.

"I caught you, Kaitou Kid."

He looked completely thunderstruck for a moment. Then, a smile curved onto his face. He pulled her into his arms, picking her up off of the ground.

"How long have you been waiting to say that, cutie?" he asked, that signature grin on his face. Her face flamed red, and she let out a wordless shriek as she tried to fight out of his grasp.

He was too strong for her, though. He carried her in one arm to the window, flipping it open with all of the nonchalance of someone walking out of their own home.

He leapt up onto the balcony, and the crowd gasped in shock at the fact that there was someone in his arms. The Kid moved her into a bridal-style carry. Aoko wanted to die of embarrassment.

"I'd drop you off down there," he said casually, "but I fear my fan girls may kill you."

Aoko glared at him. "Do it. I can take them."

He laughed, a familiar peal of laughter that made her body stiffen in surprise. She knew that laugh.

_Impossible._

"Get ready," he warned, still sounding amused.

Aoko wanted to ask 'what for', but she already knew. Against her will, she wrapped her arms around her neck and screamed as he leapt off the balcony. Usually he would freefall for awhile, but this time he opened the glider right away, sailing over the crowd with practiced ease.

People cried out his name, pointing and flashing cameras. He zoomed past the crowd, off past where the Kaitou Kid Taskforce could hope to capture him.

"You got away," she mumbled angrily, feeling tears of humiliation burning at the corners of her eyes. "Again."

"I wouldn't say that," the Kid said with easy nonchalance. "_You_ still have me."

He jingled the handcuffs that locked their wrists together. She really should have thought that through better. Now, instead of keeping him tied down, she was his captive.

"I'll take them off once I've dropped you somewhere safe, okay?" he must've noticed her incredulous look, because he grinned at her cheekily.

_"Why? He's got impeccable taste!"_

She'd seen that grin before a million times, worn on a face that she cared about more than anyone else in the world.

"Kaito..." she breathed out.

To say that the Kid looked shocked would have been an understatement. His eyes widened, and he sucked in a sharp gasp. His head jerked forwards, as if to block her from seeing his face.

Aoko blinked.

"What...are you doing?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as deadpan as she could.

"Who...who's Kaito?"

He had changed his voice. It was an infinitesimal difference, but enough that she'd noticed it. She stared at him with new eyes. The Kid was hiding something.

From...her...?

"What's wrong, Kid?" she queried softly, purposely yanking on the handcuffs, "worried that I'm going to unmask you?"

She'd only been trying to intimidate him, but the way that he swallowed quickly and refused to meet her eyes said that she'd inadvertently hit the bull's-eye.

The glider suddenly turned, and he was heading off towards an empty park. Ah. He wanted to drop her somewhere that no one would see him.

They touched down softly, and the Kid let her onto her feet with the care of the gentlemen he claimed to be.

Aoko gestured at the handcuffs, but realized that the other was empty. The Kid grinned vaguely at her obvious surprise.

"I took it off as we were landing. You have the key, so you should be able to get it off of yourself, right?"

Aoko nodded blindly.

His smile softened. "So," he said, "what did it feel like, to fly with me through the night?"

Aoko opened her mouth, to make some smart retort, but found that no words came out. Her eyes widened.

_Impossible. Just impossible._

Her heart fluttered.

The Kid's smile flickered, replaced with a confused frown. He shrugged, and the grin flipped back onto his face like a switch.

_It was like the raising of a mask, and suddenly he was Kaito again._

Aoko took a step back, raising her hands to her mouth in horror. No. She was delusional. This was the _Kid_. He bore absolutely no resemblance to her Kaito whatsoever...could he?

_Since when had Kaito become that kind of person?_

Blue eyes stared, from behind a mask of thievery and a costume monocle. Uncomprehending. He didn't realize what was going through her head. He didn't realize the puzzle she was beginning to piece together.

There, right in front of him, she was unravelling his mystery.

_"Never say never."_

It was amazing, exhilarating and fantastically jolting just how quickly the pieces could fall into place. The signs had been there forever. The little things.

They'd never been in the same place at the same time.

Kaito knew things about Kid heists that he shouldn't. The Kid knew things about her that he definitely should not have. Simple things, like something she'd said almost two weeks ago.

"Are you okay?"

The fake tone in his voice had vanished, replaced with something warm and familiar. Something she knew far too well.

How could she have not seen it for so long?

Aoko stumbled forwards, into his surprised arms. She gripped onto the white coat, that god_damned_ white coat. She slowly looked up, into eyes filled with blatant confusion. That face. It was so unmistakeably _him_. She had seen the Kid so many times before. How had she blinded herself so well?

It was almost a little _too _obvious.

She raised both hands up to his face.

He leaned back slightly, craning his neck away from her. She was too fast, though. She knocked the hat off and tore away the monocle in one, quick movement.

And there, dressed in a white suit, with a sapphire hidden in the folds of his clothing, was Kuroba Kaito. _Her _Kaito.

His eyes were huge, and his mouth was open in a silent expression of horror. Terror lurked behind his face.

Tears welled up in her eyes. Was he that scared of her?

Perhaps she was in shock, and would kill him later. That or just mop him.

She put both hands on either side of his face, staring deep into those familiar blue eyes. If she had been a good friend to him, she would have noticed sooner. The differences that were so subtle and yet so obvious.

It had all changed after the first Kid died. His father. It was so obvious, now.

"You idiot," she whispered.

He blinked, looking like he didn't know what to do whatsoever. It was almost a little funny, to see Kaito so shell-shocked.

She smiled sadly. "I should have never said never."

And then, on complete and total impulse, she kissed him. Aoko vaguely realized that she was standing there, lip-locked with both her best friend and her sworn enemy. He kissed her too, with a passionate longing that she had sensed in him not two weeks before. Her hands moved from his face to around his neck.

When they pulled away, she rested her head on his chest. He rested his chin on her head, stroking her hair absently with a gloved hand.

"Not the reaction I was expecting," he murmured, his voice low and throaty and filled with a sort of warmth that she'd never heard in it before.

Aoko laughed weakly. "Not the reaction I thought that I'd have."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"You should be mad at me."

She gripped his jacket. "I will be. I am. I just...I guess I always forgot that the Kaito Kid always returns the jewels he steals."

"That doesn't make it any better."

She was surprised by the conviction in his voice, by the underlying tone of self-loathing.

"You're doing it for a reason," Aoko said to him, as if to convince him of his own mission, "you're looking for something."

"How do you know that?"

"Just a hunch."

He tightened his hold around her, moving his head so that his cheek was resting on the top of her head. "You're being very calm."

She nuzzled his shoulder. "I think I'm in shock."

"I should get you home."

Aoko nodded against him. He unwrapped his arms from her waist, taking a step back. Kaito shrugged his jacket off, and picked up the hat from the ground. He also removed the tie from around his neck.

She watched as he clapped the pile together, did something else that she didn't quite catch, and then made it disappear.

"How...where did you put those?"

Kaito winked at her, "a magician never reveals his secrets."

She smiled tiredly, and all but fell into his arms as he swept her back up bridal-style. She put her arms around his neck. She snickered when he flinched at the cold metal of the handcuff, when it touched his throat.

"Not going to fly me home?" she asked softly, leaning her head against his warm chest.

He chuckled and shook his head. "I can't just levitate from the ground, Aoko. I'm not _that_ good."

"Mm," she hummed, listening to the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat.

He carried her home in comfortable silence, as she dozed in his arms. Every so often, she'd blink up at him and smile.

Finally, her and Kaito were on the same page. Finally, she knew why there were moments when he stopped pretending to be so happy, and forwent it for who he really was: a man struggling through two identities. One, the carefree teenaged magician. The other, the considerable mantle left for him from his father.

Now, at least, Aoko could help him in whatever way that she could.

Still, they had to share one single thought, as he carried her home on that warm, spring night.

Things had certainly turned out much differently than either of them had expected.

And, from the top of a tall building, a black-clad witch watched as they walked down the street. She smiled, twirling a strand of deep mahogany hair in one finger.

"I told you so," she mused, and vanished into thin air.

End

A quick note: I think that people don't often give Aoko enough credit. She cares about Kaito way too much to hate him, and though she would be hurt, I think she'd take it well. That, and I wanted to try a different reaction with her. It was fun.

Good? Bad? Ugly?

Drop a review on your way out and tell me what you thought!


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